In Medieval and Renaissance times, Roma were
known as Gypsies (in English) as a result of their proclaiming
themselves to be penitents from Egypt. Their women adopted a
style of dress which evolved during our
period, but kept some elements throughout: (1) some sort of turban was
worn (though the style of turban varied); and (2) a blanket, worn so
that it fastened over one shoulder and passed under the opposite arm.
The undergarments might change with time and place, but the draped
blanket remained. Probably dresses were acquired in the towns
through which the Roma traveled and, since the Roma may have obtained
their clothing second hand, these gowns might be whatever the women of
that area had worn years -- or a generation -- earlier.

Narrative evidence

Descriptions given of the Gypsies' entrance
into Western Europe in the early
15th C:

In 1422 an observer in Bologna described the
Gypsy women's appearance: "their women went in smocks and wore a
pilgrim's cloak across the shoulder, rings in their ears, and a long
veil on their head." In 1427, they were described by an observer near
Paris in similar terms: "most or nearly all had both ears pierced, and
in each ear a silver ring, or two in each....as only dress an old
blanket, very coarse and fastened on the shoulder by a band of cloth or
cord, and underneath a poor shift for all covering." (Both
translations from Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald, Gypsies of Britain:
an introduction to their history (London: Chapman & Hall, 1944)..

Evidence
of art

Gypsy women are still wearing their blankets
in 16th and 17th C. paintings that clearly show various details.

There were several ways of draping the
blanket.
In some Bruegels' works, they appear as striped blankets worn
over both shoulders, probably fastened over one.

In other works, we see the blanket was draped
in such a way as to provide a "pocket", wherein things could be
carried. The painting of a Gypsy fortune-teller by Vouet (Fig 1)
clearly shows a villain rummaging in that pocket, trying to steal from
her. (In another contemporary painting, a man is removing a chicken
from the folds of her drape.) Manfredi used a similar
"plot" in his painting (Fig 2).

In these paintings, we see the outer fold
of the
pocket is a distinct, different color, although this feature is not
seen in all period paintings. In the
Vouet painting, it's clear that the edge of the pocket is just a
contrasting strip: a little of the dark blue inner
surface is showing. Vouet and Caravaggio
(Fig 3) show pockets
with red
edges; Manfredi shows a tan drape with a
dark brown or black edge to the pocket; de
La Tour shows one with a gold border (and another drape of
heavy material with no pocket).

The Vouet and Caravaggio paintings both show
the drape is tied with ribbon
or cord at the shoulder, just as described by the early 15th C
observers.

The end of the drape depends on the length of
fabric remaining after it has been tied
at the shoulder. In the Caravaggio (Fig 3), the
end of the drape (hanging behind the shoulder) ends at a point
approximately level with the hip (as is barely visible at lower left).
In a
print by Brebierre (Fig 4), we see the lower edge of drape (hanging in
front of the shoulder) ends at a point at about mid-calf. And in a
print by de Gheyn, the lowest point of the drape appears just above
ankle
length.

To replicate this drape, I started with a
piece of cloth approximating the size of a blanket. Current standard
twin blanket size is 66 inches by 90 inches. I used a lighter weight
material than most blankets provide, but still substantial -- nothing
filmy. Still, if this were my only outer
garment and served me as cloak, blanket or ground cover as occasion
demanded, I might want the heavier fabric. Since I am "teapot" shaped
-- short and stout -- my fabric was hemmed to be narrower, only 62
inches wide, but was 108 inches long -- an even 9 feet, or 3 yards.

To this rectangle, I added a 6 inch wide
reinforcing strip (red) down the whole 108 inch length (dark blue),
about 18 inches from one edge (Fig 5). I think the purpose
of that strip was reinforcement, to keep the fabric from ripping when
holes (for the
cord to pass through) were poked into it and all the weight of the
garment would hang from those holes.
I added ribbons, firmly
attached to the edge nearest the strip. They were placed so that when
the ribbons were tied together, the top corner of the drape ended at
about the hip and the lower corner hung to mid-calf. For me, this
worked out to about 27 inches from each corner, leaving a gap of 54
inches in between.

Figure 5 - above, NOT
to scale

I poked holes through the reinforcing
strip and
underlying fabric and threaded the ribbons through
the holes (as shown in Fig 6), and then tied all four together. I
pulled it over my head with the tied ribbons sitting on my right
shoulder, sticking my left arm outside the drape.

Figure 6 - above, NOT
to scale

End product

For final effect, see Fig 7. I used a
bodice something like that in the Vouet painting, but wore earrings,
amber beads,
and head scarf based on the Manfredi painting. I still need a
shift with a neckline that better matches the line of the bodice,
or a bodice
that matches the neckline of the shift, or something in between.
But
that's for the future.

Figure 7 - photo taken late 2004

Comments

The resulting garment has proved very
practical. The pocket carries my pouch and any small purchases, and my
hands are free for other purposes. It's easy to pull the back part of
the pocket over my head in case of sudden showers. I can untie the
ribbons and use the whole thing as a ground cover at field events or to
wrap it around myself like a cloak on chilly evenings. For a woman of
childbearing age, it would make a very handy sling in which to carry an
infant and could be pulled up in front to provide privacy while nursing.